The Leaps That Come With Business Growth

Some people have a mindset that a business grows
slowly and steadily, like a plant. However, growth in business comes in leaps,
bounds, regressions, and plateaus. There’s no such thing as a linear
progression, because as you expand, there is more heavy investment, greater
risk, and more to lose (and win!). Decisions are made based on projections that
may or may not come true, and the rewards, or failure, can be tremendous.

However, don’t let the fear of risk keep you from
reaching the next stepping stone your business has to reach. Here are some
tricky moments you will have to get through in order to graduate from being a
small business to a medium sized one.

Employing a Team

When you are working alone, or with a team of
consultants/freelancers, you don’t feel quite the same level of responsibility
to them. But to really grow your business as a brand, you will need to build a
team of dedicated employees and create a work culture that will reflect your
values. With hiring on people comes a whole slew of new issues: recruitment,
payroll, taxes, insurance, and more. On top of the paperwork headache, you need
to provide a place for them to work, equipment like computers, machines, space
for whatever your industry requires, and policies around things like work
culture, vacation times, and outlining roles and responsibilities. This is a
huge jump but one that most business owners report as positive and
revolutionary to their business.

Growing into a New Space

Going from your basement or garage to a co-working
space is already a huge jump. Now imagine your own company headquarters, retail
space, workshop, studio, or warehouse. The demands of your business will change
as you grow and some of the “DIY” solutions that you had before just
won’t cut it. Keep a commercial realtor close who will be able to give you the
scoop when something interesting comes up and keep one step ahead of what you
need. While signing the dotted line on a lease for a space that has a large
monthly sum associated with it can be nerve-racking, don’t let it limit you.
Make sure that the contract is as flexible as you need it to be for where you
are in your phase of growth.

IT Solutions

You might have started your business with a
business plan stored on a Google Drive or done your initial bookkeeping in
Excel, but as your business grows, so will your IT needs. Contact a
provider in business IT solutions that will be able to create a comprehensive plan for your current and
upcoming needs. From cloud storage, company digital infrastructure, IT
monitoring and more, these are services that you can outsource to the experts
so that you can continue to expand on your core business services.

Delegating

This is more of a mindset change that you will have
to grow into as the business expands and perhaps the only thing that will
happen organically. As there are more and more tasks that will need to be done and
still a constant number of hours in the day, your brain will start to process
that no man is an island that you need help- whether outsourcing out, or hiring
talent in. Even in your personal life, you will find yourself delegating more
things to others so that you can focus on things that must be done by you.

Growing is a frightening, albeit exciting part of
owning a business. Remember that these “problems” are positive ones
to have and it means that what you are doing is working well!